Lakeland trustees under pressure for levy answers

RATHDRUM — A lot was said, but not much was accomplished Wednesday evening during a special meeting of the Lakeland School Board that turned adversarial at times.

The main objective — and only agenda item to be addressed during the more than two-hour meeting — was the failed levy. The two-year, $9.52 million-per-year supplemental levy that would have replaced the district's current levy narrowly failed at the polls in November.

Trustee Randi Bain received applause for committing to rerunning the supplemental levy for $7.5 million. Assistant Superintendent Lynn Paslay received a standing ovation for declaring that as a mother, she couldn't recommend not rerunning the levy.

Trustee Dave Quimby elicited jeers for comments about teachers asking for handouts. He said the district spent $600,000 on stipends, which he said needs to be addressed.

"We have teachers and admins with their hands out all the time. You're a teacher, you're a leader. You don't get a stipend for going to a meeting, OK? Period. We got to cut them away," he said. "Nobody in the real world gets these things ... I was in the military for 33 years, I never got stipends. I got my pay, and I got paid for additional duties, OK? This is ridiculous. We're spending all this money.

"Why do we have crossing guards at this school when the other schools have teachers doing it?" he continued. "That's part of their duties, OK? We've got to stop with these hands out, 'I'm not going to do anything unless I get a stipend,' OK? Pick up trash, clean up your buildings. We got to get back to the basics."

He later apologized for his offensive words, but not before Chair Michelle Thompson chastised the audience for "attacking" the board "based on our frustrations that have been built up over the years."

"We are trying to get to the bottom of this $9.52 million," Thompson said. "Everyone keeps saying, 'Just rerun the levy,' but I'm here to tell you, if it doesn't pass, what are we going to do then?"

Tensions ran high as trustees quibbled over transportation routes, athletics, reimbursements and how many lab techs and librarians work in each building. Financial data in the Levy Budget Information spreadsheet was presented to the board by Paslay and Lakeland's Chief Financial Officer Jessica Grantham. The document contains a comprehensive itemized list of positions and supplies funded by levy dollars, impacts to the district's general fund and things for the board to consider as budget reductions are weighed.

As trustees discussed potential cuts here or there, many who sat in the packed audience in the Lakeland High School commons grew visibly impatient. They wanted to know: Will the board rerun the levy? Will a school be closed? If so, which school? Exactly what is the plan?

At the same time, the board pressed Grantham to build a budget without the $9.52 million for a scenario where the district has no levy dollars to spend, Grantham pushed back that she needs direction from the board about what reductions need to be made.

"What are we doing?" Grantham asked.

Several audience members who approached the microphones encouraged the board to not just rerun the levy election, but to actively be out in the community educating newcomers to the district about how Idaho does not fully fund public education and how levy dollars make up nearly a quarter of the district's operating budget. 

Levy funds pay for new curriculum, the district's safety program, all athletics and extracurricular activities and help fill the gap between what the state pays for transportation and what it actually costs. Levy dollars also fill the gap between what the district receives from the state for compensation for staff and what it pays its employees.

According to the Lakeland Joint School District levy calculator, those who own a home with a taxable property value of $500,000 pay a yearly $531.01 in property taxes to support the local public schools, or $44.25 a month.

Timberlake High School junior Joshua Yeager said saving this amount of money won't make much of a difference for people already experiencing a financial crisis.

"You represent the people, but you also represent us at the high school," he said to the board. "I'm asking you to take that into consideration."

Peggy Cutler, a multi-generational Lakeland School District resident, said she took the taxes she pays for her Athol properties ($1,010) and divided it by the number of Lakeland students (4,693).

"We are paying ... 22 cents per student," she said. "That is nothing."

She said another family member who lives in the district pays 8 cents per student.

"People need to do the math," Cutler said. "Everybody needs to start working together as a team, because that is not what I am hearing. Everybody is fighting against everything, and we need to educate these people that are voting no what they're paying in their taxes for our kids."

She said her grandson, a freshman in the district, is looking forward to being a welding student at Kootenai Technical Education Campus.

Levy dollars from Lakeland, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls school districts make it possible for students to explore trade careers KTEC.

She said the district needs to rerun and pass the levy.

"We've done it before," she said. "We can do it again."

Ballot language needs to be submitted to Bonner and Kootenai counties by mid-March if the district is to hold a levy election May 20. The board must make its decision in January to ensure the district's legal team has time to review the language, which will be entered into a resolution on which the board must vote.

Another special meeting is expected to be held Dec. 30.

    Audience members applaud Assistant Superintendent Lynn Paslay for telling Lakeland School Board trustees she can't recommend not rerunning the district's supplemental levy during a special meeting at Lakeland High.